A Second Chance
by Cerulean Misty Blue
Summary: He turned around, trying to see if anything was in the other direction when he felt a tap on his shoulder and could suddenly smell lemons along with some sweet smell. He groaned just then and turned slowly to face – Dumbledore! "This is hell. . ." R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A Second Chance**

**Chapter 1: Death Is the First Step**

Severus S. Snape lay on the floor in the shrieking shack, left all alone after Potter had left - Lily's son. Oh how things had changed - and he realized that he hadn't really hated Harry - he just couldn't look beyond his appearance. Now, now, Severus was looking with clear eyes at last.

A bitter grimace came to his lips - now, when he was dying, he could see there was more of Lily in Harry than there was of James, his old arch rival. If only things hadn't ended this way - but, at the same time, he was satisfied - the dark lord would be defeated today, and so, he didn't mind leaving this life like it was.

After all, he would be joining his beloved Lily again - and he couldn't wait to see her. So many years it had been since he saw her radiant face – so long ago that he had seen her face light up in laughter, joy or even in sadness. And when she was angry – ah, the fire blazing from her warmed him like the fire in the grate in the Slytherin common room.

How things had changed – he almost wished, right before he saw no more, that he could redo things all over again. His eyes closed – or he thought they had when he was suddenly in a white place – where exactly it was, he wasn't sure. It didn't have any kind of structures or anything noticeable. It was like a sheet of paper with nothing on it.

He turned around, trying to see if anything was in the other direction when he felt a tap on his shoulder and could suddenly smell lemons along with some sweet smell. He groaned just then and turned slowly to face – Dumbledore! "This is hell. . ." he moaned, his knees starting to weaken.

'_Please say I won't be stuck with this old coot forever in hell?_' he wished desperately when the man in front of him chuckled, but then sighed. "No Severus, this is not hell, as you think. I'm only here to help you decide where you want to go." He said, and nodded his head at something that had appeared behind them.

Why was it that the old coot could always seem to read minds? No, Severus mended, he could read minds – there would be no way that the old coot would know what he had been thinking without being able to read minds. Severus turned then and blinked. There was a train in the middle of the white field, and it had a sign that pointed to two different directions. The train was sitting on a track, and not too far ahead was two turns. "What's going on here old man?" Severus asked, his throat constricting. "I'm dead, right? Why am I here? Where is Lily? I want to see her – don't I deserve that after all I've done?" he asked with pleading eyes.

Severus watched Dumbledore's exprhession go from normal to a bit sad. "Yes Severus, you do. But then, you have a unique opportunity here – remember when you were dying, your last thought was that you wish you could do it all over again, right? This is your chance to change everything." Dumbledore said and smiled sadly before he popped a lemon drop in his mouth. "These are really quite good. Try one Severus." Dumbledore said, and offered one to Severus.

Severus rolled his eyes, but took one. Dumbledore beamed back up at him, his blue eyes dancing merrily. "Now then, you'll remember everything at first, but as time starts to move on, you'll gradually forget this life time. I'd suggest writing down anything you'd like to remember in here." He said, pulling out the elder wand and conjuring a diary. Severus nodded. "You'll be starting your new life out the day before your first train ride to Hogwarts. Take the opportunity while your on the train to your destination to write down what you need. Don't forget about the horcruxes – and Severus?" Dumbledore asked with hesitation.

Severus took in all this, and his mind started whirling. A chance to be with Lily again, alive with her, and win her this time – oh she would be his queen, and he would never allow himself to be in Slytherin again. "Yes Albus?" he asked, his thoughts interrupted. And as he looked at the man he'd both admired and hated for so long, the old man seemed to grow so much older and sadder. "I'm sorry." Said Dumbledore, tears streaking down his face. "I hope you'll forgive me. And I have faith in you Severus. You were always my favorite, even if you were a little moody."

Severus just started laughing. "Damned old coot. Fine, fine, your forgiven. After all, Harry will end up winning – of that I have no doubt." He said with a small smirk. Albus Dumbledore looked beyond shocked and amused. "First times for everything, I suppose. Now Severus, hop on that train. Here's a quill – don't worry, the ink won't run out, and Severus?" Albus said, pausing.

"Yes Albus?" he asked, a tear or two slipping by unnoticed. Dumbledore beamed at him again. "Have fun." He said simply and watched with amusement when Severus rolled his eyes at him. "Your not just an old coot – you're a batty, meddling old coot." Severus said before he felt something cool under his feet. When he looked towards the train, the white area had magically become an exact duplicate of 9 ¾ platform with the scarlett engine on the track. He popped the lemon drop in his mouth and shrugged as he climbled aboard. The train let out steam and took off, and he saw Dumbledore waving goodbye to him. Then Severus focused on the journal and quill that the old coot had given him.

It was time to get down to work. He didn't know how much he would remember when the train stopped, so he listed the following things:

1. Get sorted in a different house – not Slytherin.  
2. Remus Lupin is a werewolf. Prepare wolfsbane potion before the full moon. Add a touch of ginger root to counteract nausea.  
3. Treat Lily like a princess – never ever call her a mudblood.  
4. Never ever go to Voldemort's side!  
5. Find a way to get the Gryffindor Sword – or talk to the sorting hat when possible about it.  
6. The Room Of Requirement is on the seventh floor opposite a tapestry of dancing trolls.  
7. Find and destroy all the horcruxes, listed below.  
8. Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort .

He put hearts around Lily's name and smiled, but the smile fell when he started writing down the Horcruxes and where to find them. He would be with his beloved soon. Oh how much he wanted to embrace her and kiss her! He'd have a very hard time of letting her go, and thinking that, he chuckled.

Horcruxes:  
1. Tom Riddle's Diary – Given to Lucius, might be in the possession of Ginerva Weasley.  
2. Hufflepuff's Cup – Unknown Location  
3. Ravenclaw's Diadam – Lost, perhaps check with the ghosts.  
4. Slytherin's Locket – check Borgin and Burkes – he has it.  
5. Nagini, his snake  
6. Guant's ring – unknown location – maybe with Riddle.  
7. Harry Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Evans

Severus couldn't help it, he had to cross off the name – that would NOT happen again. He would stop it from happening at all costs. Satisfied, he put the pen down only to pick it back up again and quickly scrawled under the two lists 'I LOVE LILY DAWN EVANS!' "Okay, that was a little rediculus perhaps, but. . ." he said and suddenly yawned. My, he was getting sleepy! "Maybe a quick nap." He muttered and closed his eyes, immediately asleep. Well, today HAD been pretty stressful – it wasn't every day that you died and were given a second chance after all. . .


	2. Chapter 2: A New Beginning

**A Second Chance  
****Chapter 2: A New Beginning**

_ Severus couldn't help it, he had to cross off the name – that would NOT happen again. He would stop it from happening at all costs. Satisfied, he put the pen down only to pick it back up again and quickly scrawled under the two lists 'I LOVE LILY DAWN EVANS!' "Okay, that was a little ridiculous perhaps, but. . ." he said and suddenly yawned. My, he was getting sleepy! "Maybe a quick nap." He muttered and closed his eyes, immediately asleep. Well, today HAD been pretty stressful – it wasn't every day that you died and were given a second chance after all. . ._

"Severus, wake your lazy butt up right this moment!" called a VERY familiar voice and he opened his eyes to see the woman he'd dreamed about since he had met her – and then he remembered that terrible night and his nightmares returned, giving him a haunted look.  
Lily had been about to say something when she was suddenly yanked down and pulled into a tight hug while Severus sobbed into the crook of her neck. "W-what's wrong Severus? Did you have another nightmare? Sev, it isn't real, everything's okay. I promise." She said and put her arms around him. Poor Severus, she thought and hugged him.

"Yeah – I had a really bad dream." He said as he opened his eyes – it was a lie, he knew, but it was a safe lie. But then he smiled – she was here, and she was in his arms right now. Everything felt better now. Then he felt the weight of the journal and he looked down at the open page – most of his hand was covering the two lists, and what was visible was the last thing he'd written 'I LOVE LILY DAWN EVANS!'.  
'Oh god, I hope she didn't see that. . .' he thought when Lily suddenly piped up. "What's this?" she asked, parting from their hug. She saw the writing and her eyes widened slightly, then her face went a bit pink. What should he do? He decided to do the prudent thing and shut it quickly. "Ha ha, sorry about that – must have been writing in my sleep." He said with a bright flush on his face.

It was then that Lily's mother called out for the pair of them. It was the day before school after all, and they had invited Severus to go out for ice cream with them. Not that Severus was partial to ice cream of course, but he was to Lily. He would follow her anywhere she wanted him to. "Come on Sev, we'd better go." Lily said and held her hand out to him to help him stand. Needless to say, he took her hand in his, but didn't let it go until they were nearly at her house.

They both got into the back seat – the car ride was short and rather uneventful until they stopped at 'Patterson's Ice Cream Shoppe'. Severus got out first and ran over to help Lily with her door. He saw that her father was smiling at him. He had a feeling that the old man knew that he loved Lily – would do anything to make Lily happy. Inside, Lily's mother Rose asked what they would like – luckily Tuney wasn't here, he thought, and then remembered briefly that she had been visiting a friend's house for that summer – to avoid him and Lily, he supposed.

"I want strawberry mom! What kind do you want Sev?" she asked him, distracting him from his thoughts. He took a look at the different kinds and decided on a chocolate that had strawberries in it. "That sounds good actually. Can I change mine?" Lily asked but the man had made hers already. "It's okay Lil, I'll share mine." He said with a rare smile. She was the only one that could make him smile like this – not even his own mother could make him smile like Lily could.

"Okay!" she said and beamed at him. "Then I'll share mine with you too." She said and they took a seat at a nearby table – he and Lily took one while her parents took the one in front. Two small bowls were handed to the children and Severus put half of his in a bowl for Lily, while she did the same with her ice cream. "That's not a bad idea, eh Rose?" said Lily's father and Rose chuckled.

Lily beamed at him and started eating her ice cream. Severus noticed that she was eating it a bit faster than what was wise, and put a hand on her own, which immediately caused him to flush. "Careful Lily, you're going to get –" he started to say when she suddenly winced and interrupted him with an "Oww!"  
"Brain freeze." He added, though not without a little snort of amusement. Bloody girl, she was really a Gryffindor, wasn't she? He rolled his eyes at her and she frowned at him. "Sev, that's mean!" she said when he raised a brow.

She stuck her tongue out at him which caused the surprised Severus to blink and lean just a little too far back in his chair – the chair ended up going backwards on him – in that split moment, Lily saw him fall backwards, the look on his face made Lily do the same thing, giggling madly.

Rose and Thomas (Don't know his real name) started and immediately got up to see if they were okay, but then sat back down when Lily and Sev started laughing. "Lily Dawn Evans, I'm going to strangle you. Oww. . ." he complained, holding his side. "It's your fault Severus. Snape." She said and stuck her tongue at him again. "You just looked so surprised, I couldn't help but laugh."

He groaned but smirked all the same. "You're going to be the death of me Lily." He joked and stood up, offering his hand to her, like she had done for him earlier. She took it and got to her feet. "I am so excited about going to Hogwarts tomorrow, aren't you Sev?" she asked as they threw their paper bowls away and Severus nodded. He really did miss the school, come to think of it. But then a dark thought entered Severus' mind – James Potter, and following behind was the marauders.

"What's wrong Severus?" she asked and poked him. "Come on, mom and dad's heading to the car." she said, waking Sev from his thoughts. Hmm, this was good – her parents were outside, and he had Lily all to himself at the moment. "Hey Lily, will you always be my best friend?" he asked and watched Lily as she rolled her beautiful green eyes and slapped his arm. "Of course I will silly! No matter what, we're friends forever and ever!"  
He grinned. That was what he wanted to hear. "We'd better hurry, your parents are looking for us." He said and grinned at the most beautiful woman in the world. His Lily. . . And this time, he'd be sure to make her his beloved Lily. Starting tomorrow, he decided as they left for home . . .

"Severus! Wake up, time to go!" said a voice the next morning that seemed to echo in his ears. It was his mother's voice. "I'm up mother." He said and got ready. "Lily's mom and dad said I could ride with them." He explained and quickly got dressed in some muggle clothes he owned – they were a bit too small, but it didn't matter – he would be wearing his Hogwarts uniform after they got onto the train.

He was about to float his trunk out the door when he remembered that he shouldn't know how to use magic. So he had to rely on his mother and him lifting it to quietly carry it out of the house – once they nearly dropped it in front of a sleeping Tobias – he was passed out on the couch and snored when he heard his ink for the school year hit the side of his trunk.

Finally outside, he waved goodbye to his mother and took out his wand. Making sure no one was looking, he caused it to float just a little – it wasn't easily noticeable since it skimmed the grass. Now that he'd solved the problem of the heavy case, he pulled it in the direction of his beloved's house: Lily. . .

She was already outside, and she beamed when she saw him there. "Hey Sev! Come on, I'll help you with your trunk." She said but he shook his head. "It's ok, I've got it. Ready?" he asked and she nodded. "Yep, my trunk is in the car." She said, beaming. Thomas helped Severus with his trunk and they got into the car for the ride to King's Cross.

Through the trip, Lily asked him all about Hogwarts, and he grinned as he told her about the boat ride, and the giant squid that sometimes saved kids that fell into the lake. Her eyes got even bigger when he told her about the house elves that cooked at Hogwarts, and that there was a secret way to get into the kitchens.

"Wow Sev, it sounds like you know everything about Hogwarts! Did your mom tell you this stuff?" she asked in awe. He nodded. It was a lie, he knew, but it was a white lie, and it was useful not to blow his cover. After all, this was his second chance. But it was funny – he couldn't remember much about dying anymore.

And then he remembered that in that white place that had turned into King's Cross that the memories of his old life would start to fade. Hmm, he'd have to write what he remembered, so that he could be prepared for the near future – but then again, everything this time would be different – of that he vowed.

"Hey silly, come on, we're here. Gosh, you sure do like to get lost in your thoughts, don't you?" asked Lily and Severus turned a pale pink. "Sorry, I have a lot on my mind now these days." He admitted and hopped out of the car. He smirked at her and grasped her slender hand. "I hear it's easier to run straight through." He supplied before he felt his face heat up again.

"Okay Sev. We can do it on three then." She said nervously, looking from him to the solid brick wall, and then back to him before she licked her lips nervously. She was so cute, he thought, even when she was nervous. "Okay." He answered, and she started counting down. "One. . . two. . . THREE!" she yelped and the two ran straight through to the other side of the platform.

Severus cracked an eye open to see her reaction and grinned at her. "Told you." He said as her parents came through. "Let's find a compartment." He mentioned and she nodded. He searched all of them and found one that was almost empty – it had Remus Lupin sitting there, looking through a book on defense against the dark arts when he felt their presence.

"Oh, hello. Looking for a compartment? You can join mine." He added and Severus had a bad feeling about this – if Lupin was here, then Potter, Black and Pettigrew would be along too. The word Pettigrew caused Severus to start. Pettigrew! He had betrayed James and Lily – there was no way that he would let it happen again!

"I'm Remus Lupin, first year." He said introducing himself. "Hi! I'm Lily Evans, and this is Severus Snape." Lily said, introducing them. Severus simply nodded his head at Remus. After all, they might not have to be enemies this time around – he had only hated Remus because he had been part of the Marauders, Potter's group. "We're first years too." He heard Lily say and saw her sit down in front of Remus. Severus quickly joined her. That's when the door opened. . . and James Potter the bastard himself walked in . . .


	3. A Note To A Reviewer Explaining Things

First of all, yep, I wanted to jump in quicker to start things off. Lol, when I get inspired, I get inspired. And yes, your right - if you're wondering why I gave her a middle name like Dawn, its because I created a character like Lily and her middle name was dawn. Your right, btw, I am American. I was born in the eighties, so, yeah.

And with the ice cream, I was thinking of how Lily is like - she's sweet, but a little tart, not to mention her hair color. And then there's Sev, whose a little dark, loves Lily who is his 'strawberry' or whatever. That's why I went with that flavor. I've never been to Britian, so I'm writing mostly on the things I know, which is mostly American - sorry.

It's true that Sev is 11 in body - even if he doesn't exactly realize it yet - sorry, should have put that part in, but I've been just going zip through it - perhaps I'll correct it when I finish the story, or chapters I'm working on. Unfortunately, like a well, when I stop is usually when I run out of inspiration. And you have to remember, that while Sev is 11-12 here, his mind is much older, at least at the moment. And they weren't exactly endorsing it - he just knew that Severus adored her.

And about the thing with Remus, Severus still has his memories from the first time he was at school. While that's the same, some things will be different, obviously. I must have forgotton that he said that, I figured that James would drag poor Lupin around with them, since he had the either fortunate or unfortunate chance of sitting with them. And as far as Pettigrew, I dunno how they became friends, but I dislike Pettigrew anyways.

No, Severus isn't going to invent wolfsbane - since he's made it for him in the past, he still has the recipe, but he's going to do it secretly, probably find one of the potions unused classrooms to brew it in. Of course, it's risky, but then he could always make up an excuse as to what he was brewing. Like, he saw a potion in a book he wanted to try his hand at.


	4. Chapter 3: Rivals

**A Second Chance**

**Chapter 3: Rivals **

_ "I'm Remus Lupin, first year." He said introducing himself. "Hi! I'm Lily Evans, and this is Severus Snape." Lily said, introducing them. Severus simply nodded his head at Remus. After all, they might not have to be enemies this time around – he had only hated Remus because he had been part of the Marauders, Potter's group. "We're first years too." He heard Lily say and saw her sit down in front of Remus. Severus quickly joined her. That's when the door opened. . . and James Potter the bastard himself walked in . . ._

James Potter, the very bastard that he couldn't stand to even look at, had just entered their quiet compartment. _'Double damn. . .'_ he thought and looked at Remus who had just looked up at the newcomer. And wouldn't you know it, right behind him was Pettigrew and Black!

Severus put a hand on Lily's and gave her an uncertain smile – she returned his smile with a beaming one. "Well well, who do we have here?" he asked, taking a seat next to Remus. James used a hand to ruffle his hair, like he always had before and grinned at Lily with his 'devil-may-care' look. "James Potter. And you are?"

"I'm Lily Evans, and this is Remus Lupin and Severus Snape." She answered, frowning slightly. Severus smirked, hiding behind one of the masks he always wore when dealing with his old nemesis, but behind it, he was laughing with joy. Lily was not impressed with Potter – and that was enough to make him want to dance a jig. Finally, finally, things were going his way.

He watched as Potter's brows went up and smirked. "Well, I like a challenge anyways." He said, looking like his old cocky self – at least until Lily grabbed Severus' hand and drug him from the compartment. "I'll talk to you later Remus." She said with ice in her voice. He saw Remus nod at her and Severus snorted in Potter's direction – he obviously wasn't used to being turned down by pretty girls that he was interested in. And when she had grabbed Severus' hand – he had looked livid.

They found another compartment not far from the one that Remus was in and took a seat. The trolley that had treats stopped and told them they had better get into their Hogwarts clothes. Severus bought him and Lily a pack of droobles and Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. After changing, they laughed over who got what flavor.

Sev ended up getting a grass flavored one and Lily got a pepper flavored one, which caused her to cough while she was laughing. Just as she was daring him to try a bit of what looked like treacle tart, the train pulled into the station. Severus gave her the box to put away with her things and he helped her with her trunk. "Want to see something cool Lil?" he whispered and pulled out his wand, whispering the incantation to float both his and her trunks. Lily looked wide eyed at Severus. "Wow Sev! That's amazing! You have to teach me that." She said and he nodded, grinning.

It was then that he heard Hagrid call for the first years. "Fir' Years! Over here!" said a booming voice, and he was pleased to see that seeing Hagrid's giant size made Lily a little scared – she had clutched onto him. "It's alright – I don't think he'll hurt us." He said with amusement; Lily just glared at him and walked towards the giant of a man, letting go of Severus. Severus started laughing. "Oh come on Lily, don't be like that – I didn't mean anything by it."

Hearing the rare laugh, Lily turned back around and pouted at him. "Fine, but don't make fun of me Mr.-Know-It-All." She said and Severus was reminded strongly of when he had called Hermione Granger an 'insufferable know-it-all'. He supposed, if he ever saw her again, he'd have to find a way to apologize.

It was then that she saw Remus Lupin heading towards Hagrid with the other marauders following behind him. They were chatting but then he saw Lily. "Hi Remus!" she said grinning. Remus returned a wave but Potter dragged him towards Severus and Lily.

"Well well, if it isn't the pretty flower I saw a while ago." He said to strike up a conversation with the red haired beauty. But it was then Severus decided to stop this here and now. She was HIS princess, not Potter's – or at least not anymore. "Leave her alone." Severus said, stepping in front of Lily a little.

James looked mildly at the boy who had just stood up to him. "Snape was it? Why don't you go and bugger off somewhere? Me and the lady have some things to discuss. . ." he said, turning back to Lily when Severus pulled his wand from his pocket. Potter looked amused. "I bet you don't even know any spells yet." He said, taking his own wand from his pocket.

"You would be dead wrong, Potter." He said with a broad smirk. This was his chance to get him away from Lily – for good. He couldn't exactly use Sectumsempra right now, so with a thought he cast a spell that had Potter hanging from an ankle, his white knickers visible for all to see. It was one of his favorites – and one he'd created as the Half-Blood Prince.

He flicked an amused look at him and then grinned when he heard Lily. "That was amazing Sev! You really showed him, didn't you?" she said with a grin and hugged him tightly.

"H-hey, you cheat! Let me down!" James Potter demanded and Severus smirked wider. "As you wish." He said and cast the incantation to let him down. And down he went, landing on his bottom in front of all the first years. Everyone started laughing then, and it felt so nice to be in Potter's place for once.

"Now, leave Lily alone, or should I go with a curse to shrink your head? Oh wait, your head is already small enough." He quipped which made everyone around him laugh more and some even clapped. "Not that your small head even has enough room for a brain." He finished and grinned at Lily. "Let's go." He whispered into her ear before leading her to the boats. "Remember the little boats I told you about?" he said as she beamed at them. Hagrid lead them into one boat filled with four other kids – some he recognized, as the boats were released, but there were two in the boat he didn't.

"Hi, I'm Lily Evans and this is Severus Snape." She said, introducing them. "Patricia Clearwater, Gideon Nott, Hannah Macmillan and Emily Cole." Introduced Emily and Severus nodded at them. Gideon grinned at Severus. "Nice spell work. I only know a few spells right now." He said and Severus nodded.

"Same. That was one my mom created back when she was at Hogwarts." He added, thinking about his last lifetime – when he had told Nott that he had created the spell and ended up in Slytherin, the boy had been quick to introduce him to Lucius, who got him into the Dark Lord's service – or rather, thrust him into service. Well, that wasn't happening again.

Soon, the boats were across the lake, and they were ordered by a new teacher – who wasn't so new to Severus – to form a line. Severus smirked up at Minerva McGonagall and paused. Usually, he towered over Minerva – in fact, he had been one of the tallest teachers in Hogwarts. _'That's right, I nearly forgot – Dumbledore sent me back to when I was twelve which means I'll have to conceal my magical prowess.'_ He thought to himself as they walked up the stairs from a cave into the waiting room. "I'll be back to collect you in a few moments. Behave." She ordered before she closed the door.

He looked around a bit and turned to Lily when someone came up to them. "Severus. . ." said a very familiar name and he sucked in a breath before turning sharply on his heel to face Lucius. Well, he had known this was coming. "Lucius. . . how are you?" he asked with a slight frown. He gripped Lily's arm and pushed her gently behind him – Lily had been chatting to Molly Prewett, who one day would become Molly Weasley. At that moment thankfully, McGonagall returned and lead them from the room to the Great Hall, where there was an old battered hat sitting on a chair. Suddenly the hat broke out in song about each of the houses, but as Severus had heard this dribble before, didn't really pay attention. Instead, his eyes went to Lily, who seemed awestruck that a hat could actually sing.

And the sky, it seemed to enchant her – just like it had all those years ago. Those memories were getting a little foggier now, but he had one memory where he found her while she looked into the starry sky one night right after dinner. He had joked with her, and it had been one of the best days of his life.

He really wasn't paying much attention when her name was called. He already knew what house she'd be placed in – she had always been a Gryffindor, and would always be a Gryffindor. But he would still watch – because he loved her, and wanted to cheer her on. He gave her a smile when she walked to the chair nervously and sat down like the others. When the hat was placed on her head, his heart sped up unnecessarily and watched as the hat hardly touched her red hair when it called out "Gryffindor!". She beamed at Severus and walked over to the Gryffindor Table.

When his name was called, he stepped up to the chair and when the hat was put on his head, the hat spoke. It was no surprise to Severus though. 'Hat, I don't care what you do, but you had best NOT put me in Slytherin.' He thought and the hat chuckled. 'I see – you have a very unusual story, don't you dear boy?' said the hat and Severus' eyes widened a tad bit.

'Do not worry, for Slytherin isn't the place for you anymore.' The hat said and before the hat could announce his new house, Severus cleared his throat. 'I also need to ask about the Gryffindor sword – I need it to. . . destroy something very evil.' He added very softly. The hat seemed to consider and then told Severus to come to the headmaster's office at a later time. 'But for now. . .' "Gryffindor!"

Severus couldn't believe he had heard the hat right. "Gry-Gryffindor?" he asked McGonagall with wide eyes and the teacher nodded, thinking him a bit scared. He walked in a daze at first and then he grinned. He was finally in the same house as Lily! At that thought, he ran over and hugged Lily in the middle of the entire Great Hall.

Then he felt a pair of eyes, cold with disdain and possibly hatred glared at Severus. James Potter was not pleased at this news – that he would have to share his house with the slimy git. Oh, he would definitely get back at Snape for the embarrassment earlier – of that, he knew.

Snape smirked over his shoulder, and saw that Potter was the one. If he thought today had been a bad day, he was wrong – the next time he caught him within the same room with Lily, with the exception of classes or in the Great Hall and harassing her, Potter would need the hospital wing. And he wouldn't even need Sectumsempra.

Thinking of that, he put a mental note to write down any difficult spells and potions. And speaking of potions, he needed to find an abandoned classroom over the next few days to prepare some wolfsbane for Lupin. He looked back at where Potter was sitting and saw that they had dragged poor Lupin to sit with them.

Speaking about the potion, he would also have to get some hard to find ingredients, such as aconite and frozen ashwinder eggs, which were very hard to get. But then again, this was Slughorn he was dealing with – it shouldn't be difficult. And Potter's group would never need to know – and never need to turn into animagi.

Shortly after Dumbledore reviewed the new staff and the same old stuff (mostly about nothing from Zonko's was allowed, and that the forest was forbidden) they tucked into their meals and once finished, headed up to their common rooms. He almost went the wrong way at first, almost went towards the dungeons when Lily grabbed him by the sleeve.

"Where are you going silly. It's this way." She directed and pointed up the stairs. He felt a little stupid, but he supposed it was alright. He was with his Lily, his precious, precious Lily. His Lily, that no one would ever take from him again. He followed her up to the Gryffindor common room and they paused for a moment. "I'll. . . I'll see you in the morning?" he asked the dazzling young woman who still had his sleeve.

"Of course Sev!" she said with a smile and they went their different ways – Severus towards the boys dormitories and Lily towards the girl's. He felt Lily's fingers slowly slide from his sleeve and watched her as she looked back at him. He smiled sheepishly at her right before he saw her leave. . . and then made his biggest mistake that night.

Not watching where he was going, since his mind had been completely on Lily, as well as his eyes, he ran straight into Potter. The force sent them both on their bottoms and they both cursed at the same time. "Damned it Potter." He growled at his rival. "Snape was it? Nice bit of magic earlier. Where did you learn that?" he asked almost admiring. Severus frowned at him. "I studied a few books back during the summer and came up with it." He said with a slight shrug and wondered what Potter was going to do.

When Potter heard that Snape had made it himself, his expression told him that James was impressed, whether or not he would admit it verbally. "So, you're a bookworm then?" he asked with a hint of a smile. "Lupin's like that as well. Since he got here, he's had his nose in a bloody book." He joked.

Severus smirked. Just like Lupin to have his name in a book - Not that he wasn't just like him – Severus often had his nose in a book himself. The difference was, his book was normally a potions book. "Yes, he seems like the type." Severus commented, and looked away from Potter. What exactly did he want with Severus?

It was then that Potter cleared his throat. "Listen, that girl, you know? I think her name was Evans. What's going on between you two anyways? Are you her cousin or something? You looked awful defensive of her for some reason."

Severus raised both brows and shook his head. "No – we've been best friends for. . . for a long time." He finished. He wasn't about to give his enemy any secrets to his worst enemy. "And, I love her. I always have, ever since I met her." He admitted. He hadn't really wanted to, but if it would stay Potter, then he was glad to tell him. He'd tell anyone that had an ear if they asked him.

James Potter looked pretty surprised by this news. "Sooo, when are you breaking the news to her?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. Severus blinked at him. What in the hell was Potter playing at? "Why do you want to know?" he asked, throwing Potter a suspicious look. Potter smirked. "Well, let's just say you might have a little competition."

Severus growled, his face going from suspicious to pissed off in a few seconds flat. "Potter, do you realize that she doesn't like you, and that I highly doubt she wants to be anywhere near your pompous ass? And here's a fair warning Potter – if you piss her off, I have far more and much nastier spell work in my arsenal." Severus finished.

Potter's skin went a pale white when he heard this and swallowed. "Damn Snape, you're scarier than the teachers I've heard of. Even McGonagall isn't as bad I bet. Okay, okay, I promise I will try to never piss her off, but you've still got competition." He said, smirking slightly.

'Hmm, I wonder if I could kill Potter now and get it over with. . .' he wondered and then shook his head. "Just be aware that if I ever see you do anything that she doesn't want, I'll jinx you into the ground. And you'd better be careful – Lily's bat boogey jinx is worse than mine is. And that's saying something."

He left James standing there as his school robes billowed behind him – they always seemed to do that with any of his robes, whether school or his normal robes – as he headed to the boy's dorm rooms. Inside, he met the boys who he would be sharing his room with. Markus Black was the first boy he met, who introduced him to the others. There was Frank Longbottom, a name he knew well, and the memories threatened to swim in front of him of that horrid night.

The other two he recognized well as Molly Prewett's – he was still so used to her being a Weasley – brothers, Fabian and Gideon Prewett. All of them chatted while Severus merely listened. Soon, the boys ended up going to sleep and Severus glanced out of the nearby window. Tomorrow was truly the beginning of his life. And this time, he wouldn't mess it up. . .

Okay, done for tonight. But it's a longer chapter, sooo I hope it's a happy thing for the moment. I'll update tomorrow with a new chapter probably. ^^


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